Here on Political Events we are happy to provide you with articles from a wide variety of guest authors with a diverse range of political thought.

Party Politics
By Doug Wilson

Recently I’ve spent a lot of time on politically active sites. I signed up for the free memberships so I could comment on the articles. In doing this I’ve been able to get a good idea of what “some” people are reacting and responding to. Granted the whole population isn’t reading and commenting on the New York Times and the Huffington Post but a lot of people visit the sites. I read that around a third of the nation gets it’s news from the internet. I get my news from the net. I can read and watch all the network news. Watch cable channels like Democracy Now or Link.TV. I can read Greenwalds articles on Salon.com. I can read what Larry Summers says. So I spend a good deal of time each day reading and listening to people. The people I’m most interested in aren’t the ones writing the articles and making the headlines. After all, I never know who’s lying or what any of these peoples secret motives or ambitions are. But the comments, that’s completely different, they leave no doubt as to what they think and feel. That’s what I want to write about today.

As far as our government goes, as far as they might make things better, I have no faith. I think the best thing for the government to do is – Stop. Whatever you’re doing, whatever you’re thinking – just Stop. But what about – No. But we need to – No. Stop, No, No, sit down, be quiet, No. That wraps up my opinion of “The State”. But what about the opinions of the whole? The nation of people? What I see repeatedly with way too many people is their loyalty to a political party. With every single party adherent I’ve run across, critical thinking is missing. This is, no where more blatantly, obvious than in the recent transition from the last elections. My reaction to the gathering in the park on the night of the presidential election was the same as my reaction to the coverage of the Iraq bombing. I sat their and thought – wow, this is weird. Here they were, shoulder to shoulder, thousands of people with tears in their eyes, overwhelmed by the appointment of a total stranger. The self generated intimacy was baffling. In the end I can only find one reason for this behavior. It has everything to do with an emotional attachment to a political party. A political party that, in all but name, doesn’t exist. Political parties are irrelevant. We have a huge problem in this country.

A problem so overwhelmingly huge that it seems insurmountable. It’s not that the problem is not solvable. It’s not complicated. What stands in the way of eliminating this problem are political parties. Not necessarily the elected officials, but the public party partisans. I’m convinced that no Democracy can function well when it’s people are attached to a certain party. Not that we have a real Democracy but we have the ability, for now, to exercise democratic power. We as a nation still have the ability to save ourselves. What will stop this, as sure as the sun will rise tomorrow, is public party advocacy. The party activist will bring the rest of us to ruin. Either it stops, or it’s over. We will be, a nation, no more. Here is the most fascinating part of the whole game. As a people, as a majority, we don’t disagree. Another thing I notice when I’m cruising these sites is the polls. More specifically, the poll questions. They are for the most part pointless, because they are unanswerable. They are at best, misleading in there results. There was a question on a particular article yesterday that read, “Do you think she should either apologize or resign?”…Yes or No? Huh? Most people, who think, can’t answer that. There are a few people who can answer it. They are the ones who agreed 100% with the author of the article. So the results will read Yes 95% – No 5%. So what? How many people couldn’t answer? Most? This is representative of most polls I’ve seen. Besides, I’ve never been ask to participate in any major polls.

I’ve read some and seen the numbers they poll. Not very many. You want a real poll? Put it on the internet and ask real questions and leave a box for writing in your answer. Here’s an example: When should Abortion be used: (Write your answer here). When should we go to war: (Write your answer here). Now if this poll was available we’d know something – about ourselves as a nation. But if you’re a political machine, this type of poll would be political suicide. Doesn’t matter what party you work for, it would still be suicide. As long as the government controls the people a poll of this type will never be officially recognized. As long as people belong to a political party – they will only follow what is approved by, what they believe to be, “their” government. I used to sell stuff. This is how I used to do it: Would you like to buy this…It will poison you…No? OK, how about something that will make you feel good?…Yes, great! The way that all good salesman get people to buy things is by getting people to say yes. They want the people to agree – on anything. Once we start to agree, we’re going to do something together. Something is going to get done. Government is not trying to do something with us. If they were they would let us see where we are in agreement. They would make it clear that the people from this party or that party didn’t – really – want different things.

What the “State” understands is this. You never ask real questions. You never, ever, allow the public to be united. You keep them fighting. Arguing. At each others philosophical, ideological throats. It’s not even important that there be a real ideology. No body needs to know what they want. They just need to be convinced that “those guys are different”, “They” are the opposition. It’s all their fault. It’s the exact same story from either party. We want to help you, but they are blocking us. This goes on constantly, year after year, decade after decade. That’s the part of the act they want you to see. Here’s the part that people don’t see. All of a sudden, out of no where, AT&T is getting tapped by the NSA. What? That’s not a .7% tax increase – that’s science fiction. If they can’t agree on the budget how did this happen? Here’s the deal, the majority of the people who have infested the government don’t disagree on anything. This is why the most meaningless drivel imaginable is screaming about, talked about on the news, discussed and argued and at last, with great pageantry accomplished. But historic sweeping constitutional changes are made overnight with barely a whisper. This is what I would like to say to all the people who get emotionally involved with parties, politicians, government: You don’t know them. For 95% of the population of this nation let me repeat: You don’t know them.

To think you know them is not rational. You cannot know them. It is an impossibility. In no other area in your life do you behave in this way. If you do – Stop. But you probably don’t. The places I see this are in politics and religion. The two places that it is the least possible to “know” anything, people have the most fervent “beliefs”. It has to be a belief because it is impossible to really know the people involved. But for now I am focused on the belief, the fixation with political parties. I’ll say this and wrap it up. This country has been heading towards bankruptcy since 1913. Google this: Graph of national debt. Since the 1950’s it climbed steadily till 1980 when it starts to race up the scale. What parties were responsible? From 1913 till now? Both, all, any and it has nothing to do with it. In 1913 “the government” agreed, on your behalf, to turn the country over to a private banking cartel. Don’t think that’s true? Why? What do you get to do without money? It doesn’t matter if we’re talking about fifty people or 5 million: whoever controls the money controls the people. Like a weed, it is the root of the problems we experience. The greatest detriment to the country today is the political activist. The person who has been “led to believe” that the problem lies with government.

That if they can change the government, sway the government, petition, plead, reason with or elect different people, it will solve the problem. When the idea that there are two parties in Washington, one fighting for you and one leading the country to ruin, is gone then the picture will start to become clear. That’s the first step on the road to reason. Because in order for this country to accomplish anything of worth we have to agree. We have to unite. Not on the small things. But on the most important things. The things that matter. At this moment there are a couple “issues” being discussed by government that matter. There are a few people in government working to get rid of the problem. The rest are working to fulfill promises to people who funded their campaigns and line their pockets. When there is no emotional involvement this is very easy to see. Like I said, this is the first step. It is a required step. It’s not an option. It’s not one of the ideas that could work. It is a step in a process. It can’t be left out, avoided, worked around, or made more palatable, because we hate to be wrong. It’s the pill we have to swallow if we want to live.

Bio: Doug Wilson is an avid student of concepts and has spent the last five years seeking out the structural aspect of unrest in human nature . The results of this study is being written out as a system for self discovery at Addiction: In the 21st Century

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Here on Political Events we are happy to provide you with articles from a wide variety of guest authors with a diverse range of political thought.

What the Election Taught Me
By Patrick Britton

Enough time has passed since the dust settled after the Presidential elections for me to ponder the crazy events that unfolded. It seems like it was just yesterday that the primary races were only getting started. The interesting note for me is that I started blogging around that same time. A lot has happened to me in that short period of time. I’ve become a better writer, a much more rounded conservative and someone who really has a handle on what he believes. If you were to ask me the one thing you could do to improve your ability to argue for your beliefs it would be to start a blog. It teaches you a lot about your beliefs and yourself all together.

This March will mark my 2nd year anniversary of blogging. It all started as a way for me to express my thoughts on politics and life. Two years is a long time when you are constantly analyzing the issues and questioning what you believe. Along the way I have learned my perception of conservatism was wrong and have changed my view on a couple issues. One thing did not change and that is my passion for politics. I can guarantee that I will always be 100% real, no one will ever speak for me and you can count on my honest to God opinion on everything I discuss. You are bound to find several articles that disagree with each another. That is not because I can’t make up my mind. You are literally witnessing my political ideology develop over time.

This last election helped develop my stance more than any other time in my life. Maybe it was the seriousness of the contest or my constant comparison of the politician’s stances on the issues to my own; whatever the case may be it taught me who I am. Most people turn on the news, maybe listen to a radio show but not me. I was on the ball at all times, analyzing, reading and watching what the candidates were saying. I burned myself out by writing so many articles and got to the point I was writing three articles everyday. That would take a toll on anyone and it also taught me to take a break once and awhile. Even a political news junkie like myself can have a little too much information.

The biggest realization that I have come to is that the conservative movement is off track. For the longest time I had it set in my mind what a conservative was supposed to be. Conservatism in popular culture has started to look a lot like liberalism. It’s about forcing others to abide by your beliefs. That’s not how I see conservatism. I hold my core beliefs dear to my heart, so does everyone else, conservatism says to let each of us have those ideals and to be free to live according to them. Life must always be protected, that is why abortion is a fundamental problem in this country and something our founding fathers would never approve of. Government shouldn’t be spending our money, we should. Taxes should not be overbearing and our pay checks should be ours; all of it.

The political game is a tough one. The politicians willing to stand firm on something no matter what their party says is bound to lose. Too conservative, not conservative enough, too liberal; no one is themselves enough. I want to hear more about the issues and less about your loyalty to your party. If none of the politicians had a party affiliation it would force people to actually pay attention to what they say and how they vote. Instead of picking up your parties platform and reading it verbatim why not try having some ideas of your own. The liberal and the conservative, that’s what we have to chose from. I want the lower-taxes, less-spending, more freedom guy. I’ve learned that neither party seems to offer that person anymore.

What I have learned this past election was what I really believe and how important my beliefs are to me. I don’t expect you to agree with me all of the time, hell, debate and productive conversations are the only reason my opinions have developed. We should have a healthy dose of uncertainty about how we feel. Some have called me close minded and I think they couldn’t be further from the truth. I take on topics head first and come to my conclusion as I learn all there is to be known. Once I have taken a stance I reexamine it and make any necessary changes. I do this all the time, I’m still young, I have plenty of time to figure out how I feel. I think that’s a trait we all should have; the willingness to realize we are more than likely wrong.

I’ve had a lot of fun complaining on my blog. It gives me something to look forward to everyday. I sit down and think until I figure out something to write about, blurt out the first thing that comes to my mind and come back to see what others think about it. It’s not about money, I don’t make much on here, I do it for the love of the game. The passion my fellow conservatives and liberals throw into their movement is inspiring. I may not agree with you but I sure do enjoy the conservations. Never write me off because you think I’m a stuffy old conservative. It’s no fun that way, it’s much better to have someone to disagree with. How much fun would it be if we all felt the same way? We’d all be friends but sometimes opposition is much more entertaining.

Maybe this is why the blog has continued to grow. Maybe there are other people out there fed up with the system. You may have been fooled by the talking heads about conservatism. You were told for the past eight years that more spending and more government is conservative. It’s not! Don’t get made at me because you’re idea of conservatism isn’t the same as mine. I admit that I carry some libertarian views but don’t go off thinking I am confused about what conservatism is. I don’t want to redefine conservatism, I just think your definition is wrong. You may find yourself agreeing with me half the time and the other half not. That’s ok, you’re allowed to be wrong we can still be friends. In all seriousness though I want you to disagree with me. Let’s go, discuss the issues, it’s what makes America great.

What have you learned during this past election? Has it changed your idea of what conservatism is? I’d love to hear from you.

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